Boom shakes windows in several counties

Staff report

Published: Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 10:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 10:41 p.m.

A sonic boom of some sort caused windows and walls to shake over several counties in North Central Florida Thursday night, and Alachua County sheriff's officials got the explanation that it was "military manuevering of some kind."

Alachua County Sheriff's Lt. Art Forgey said late Thursday night that the "west side of Gainesville flooded our communications center" around 9 p.m. with calls about a window-clattering and wall-shaking boom felt by many residents, particularly those in west Gainesville.

"We've been in contact with the State Warning Point, and 'military manuevering' " was the extent of the explanation, Forgey said. The State Warning Point is a clearinghouse staffed 24/7 to serve as Florida's primary point of contact for coordination in times of emergency.

Forgey did say that several counties reported experiencing a similar sonic boom, but he was not aware of which counties were reporting such an incident.

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